MiPAAF Bioqualia project: Organic farming, sustainability

and biodiversity

Flavio PaolettiNational Institute for Food and Nutrition Research (INRAN)

Via Ardeatina, 546 – 00178 Rome Italy

INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC SYMPOSIUMBIODIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABLE DIETS

UNITED AGAINST HUNGER

3 - 5 November 2010, FAO Headquarters, Rome

3 - 5 November 2010, FAO, Rome

Project title

“Qualità nutrizionale e organolettica e impatto ambientale di produzioni bio. Un caso studio: il melo” –BIOQUALIA(Nutritional and organoleptic quality and environmental impact of organic food. A case study: Apple)

Funded by

Ministero delle Politiche Agricole Alimentari e Forestali (MiPAAF)(Ministry of Agriculture Food and Forest Policy)

Objectives of the project Bioqualia

• To test the mineralization of various commercial organic fertilizers used for organic apple growing

• To determine the effects of these commercial fertilizers and the conditions of their use on the nutritional and sensory quality of organically grown apple cultivars

• To determine the quality characteristics of apples from a variety comparison study aiming to select the most suitable varieties for the organic cultivation in the North-East of Italy

• To evaluate the environmental impact of the organic apple growing systems by the approach of the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

3 - 5 November 2010, FAO, Rome

Fertilization

• To reduce the pollution of fertilizers and synthetic pesticides in intensive agriculture

• Leaching of nitrogen is responsible for much of the environmental damage

The organic agriculture has rapidly grown in the world

In the organic production

• Only organic fertilizers can be used to supply the soil with nitrogen

• The mineralization of these products is slow causing a problem with the nitrogen supply when the demands of the plants is high

In the Alps-region problems with nitrogen supply in spring are common

In spring the demand of nitrogen of the apple trees is high, but• the weather conditions are often bad• the temperature of the soil is low

mineralization starts slowly

the trees own reserves may become exhausted

the nitrogen supply from the mineralization of the soil organic matter is not yet sufficient

It is therefore important to supply the plants timely in spring with fertilizer nitrogen

There is a strong need in organic fruit production to receive more information about the behaviour of fertilizers in the soil

The low nitrogen availability often determine low yields

• the problems in the fertilization• the prohibition of the use of synthetic

pesticides

the need to have appropriate varieties for the organic growing systems

The performance of a variety is commonly evaluated in terms of yield, resistance to diseases, storageability, commercial quality characteristics, etc.

Nutritional and organoleptic characteristics should be included

A principal objective of the organic farming is to maintain the natural fertility of the soil

Organic farming systems involve:

• the use of catch crops

• the recycling of crops residues

• the use of organic fertilizers

• the use of perennial crops

that promote higher  levels of organic matter in the soil

Another major objective of the organic farming is to encourage a high level of

biological activity in the soil

To secure the stability of this ecosystem it is also important to sustain a wide diversity of soil organisms.

Cental role of the microrganisms (bacteria, fungi) in maintaining the fertility of the soil through the decomposition of the organic matter

Several studies demonstrate the increase of biodiversity, biological activity and fertility in the

soil managed by organic systems

• Mader P. et al. 2002. Soil fertility and biodiversity in organic farming. Science, 296, 1694-1697

• Bengtsson J. Et al. 2005. The effects of organic agriculture on biodiversity and abundance: a meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Ecology, 42, 261-269

• Pimentel et al. 2005. Environmental, energetic, and economic comparisons of organic and conventional farming systems. BioScience, 55, 573-582

• Belfrage K. Et al. 2005. The effects of farm size and organic farming on diversity of birds, pollinatos, and plants in a Swedish landscape. Ambio, 34, 582-588

Belfrage K. Et al. 2005. The effects of farm size and organic farming on diversity of birds, pollinatos, and plants in a Swedish

landscape. Ambio, 34, 582-588

“This study compares diversity and abundance of birds plus abundance of butterflies, bumblebees and herbaceous plants between six small farms (….) and six large farms (….). ……. More than twice as many bird species, butterflies, and herbaceous plant species, and five times more bumblebees were found on the small compared to the large farms. The largest differences were found between the small organic and large conventional farms. Differences were also noted between small and large organic farms: ……………….”

“We are also fully aware that farm size per se does not affect biodiversity. However different farm sizes require different farm regimes and management practices, and we find it likely that it is these differences on farm level that have affected the abundance of birds, butterflies, and bumblebees registered in this study. ……………..”

Small farmers are commonly interested in local varieties with peculiar characteristics because their sale channel is the local market and not the great distribution

Different size farms have different objectives, different needs, and different market destinations for their products

The small farmers are the guardians of the biodiversity

SOME STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ITALIAN AND EU AGRICULTURE (2007)

Unit Italy UE-27

N. of farms n. 1.679.440 13.700.400

N. of livestock n. 309.170 8.570.670

Utilized agricultural surface ha 12.744.200 172.485.050

Utilized surface per farm ha 7,59 12,59

Source: INEA elaboration from ISTAT and EUROSTAT data

UAS in some European countries (year 2007)

France 27.500.000 haSpain 24.800.000 haGermany 16.900.000 haUnited Kingdom 16.000.000 ha

POD AND PGI PRODUCTS IN EUROPE (JULY 2009)Country Cheese Meat

productsOil and fat Fruit,

vegetable, and cereals

Meat Other* Total

Italy 34 30 38 56 3 19 180France 46 4 9 27 53 24 163Spain 23 10 22 35 14 18 122Portugal 12 36 6 22 27 12 115Greece 20 - 26 33 - 7 86Germany 4 8 1 7 3 50 73United Kindom

12 - - 1 9 10 32

Ceka Rep. - - - 3 - 15 18Austria 6 2 1 4 - - 13Belgium 1 2 1 2 - 1 7Netherland 4 - - 2 - - 6Others 9 3 2 2 2 7 25Total 171 95 106 194 112 163 841* Spices, bread, honey, etc.Source: European Commission

This structural weakness is balanced by the fact that most of the small/medium enterprises in Italy produce typical, high quality products, often with a mark of origin (POD, PGI), that allow them to get niches of market protected against the competition of the big industrial groups

Category of the impact

Unit Wheat Winter barley

Oats Rye

Conv. Org. Conv.

Org. Conv. Org. Conv. Org.Global warming g CO2e/kg 710 280 620 320 570 390 720 620

Acidification g SO2e/kg 5.3 4.5 5.4 5.3 6.0 6.4 6.0 8.0Enrichment in nutrients

g NO2e/kg 65 19 43 22 33 45.7 68 86

Photochemical smog

g ethylene eq/kg

0.17 0.22 0.19 0.56 0.22 0.25 0.21 0.38

Land use m2year/kg 1.5 2.2 1.7 2.6 2.3 3.3 2.0 4.0

Environmental impact of the conventional or organic production of 1 kg of some crops

From “Moresi M. 2010. Industrie Alimentari, 49 (502), 9‐20”

Small, medium, and large farms, having different farm regimes and management practices will have also different needs in therms of the use of energy.Generally, the studies in the literature indicate a lower environmental impact (for example, global warming) of the organic productions.

In Bioqualia project the environmental impact of a small and large organic apple farm will be evaluated by LCA methodology

Spain and Italy are at the first place among the European countries in the organic agriculture sector

• Spain is at the first place in term of surface (about 1,200,000 ha)

• Italy is at the first place for the number of farms (about 50,000)

Spain, Italy, France, Greece, Portugal represent more than 50% of the surface at organic agriculture in Europe

Cereals, legumes, fruit, vegetables, olive oil are the main organic products in the Mediterranean area.

The Cilento Organic (Eco) District is sited within the Cilento and Parco di Diano Natural Park.

The Organic District is a network of organic farms, agritourisms, organic restaurants , consumers that realize cultural initiatives aiming at the development of the Cilento territory, based on the organic farming model.

It is remarkable that the Cilento is the area where the Mediterranean Diet was born